Wall covering and method of applying same



Oct. 5, 1948. FERGUSON 2,450,786

WALL COVERING AND METHOD OF APPLYING SAME Filed Aug. 15, 1944 gvwm ALBERT, G; USON $475.5 Gum/mugs Patented Oct. 5, 1948 UNITED TES PATENT orrice WELL COVERING AND METHOD OF APPLYING SAME Albert G. Ferguson, Houston, Tex, assigrio'r to American Associated Companies, Inc., Atlanta, Ga'., a corporation of Georgia a ApplicationAugustH, 19%,- Serial No; 549,53?

1" Claim. (01; 20-4-7 This invention relates to a wall? covering and an improved method." of'applying and attaching wall paper to the walls of'rooms and is especially adapted for papering rooms whose wall surfaces are formed of boards. i

In the warmer sections-or climates of the con"- tinental United States the roomso'f houses; particularly the less expensive homes, are not usual 1y provided with a plaster finish or surface. Instead, the room walls, including the ceiling, are simply composed ofboards -secured to the joists and studding and the wall paper is attached to these" board surfaces. However; due totl i'e presence of joints or cracks between juxtaposedboards and knot holes" and-otherinequalities in the surface of such a wall, it has been the practice to'interpose a sheet ofweven material in the form of netting or cheese cloth-between the paper and wall surface in-order to-= produce a smooth paper surface by el-imiriatir inequalities iii-the surface-ofthe paper which would otherivi'seb'e produced by theinequal-i-tiesih' the board wall surface. However", such practice has its disadvantages. For instance, the loose woven material is quitexfiimsy and has to be stretched and-tacked at considerable cost-err the boards to produce a smooth surface. Due to the presence of the cracks, knot holes and the like, it is impossible to attach the flimsy woven material with paste or other adhesive as it sinks or recedes into the openings and thus defeats its purpose. Again, the nature of the loosely woven material is such that it has to be stretched to give a smooth even finish to the later applied paper and these tacking and stretching operations are tedious and time consuming, thus appreciably adding to the labor costs involved in papering a wall in this fashion.

With these factors in mind, the primary object of the present invention is to provide a comparasmooth on the wall surface preliminary to the application of the paper.

A further object is to provide a wall paper covering and a wall papering method wherein 2. ply of unwoven material of vegetable fibers,

sized to lend stiffness thereto and possessing a 7 I comparatively smooth surface is first applied to the wall surface, after which, if dcsi'red, the wall paper may be adhesively applied before the adhesive used in attaching the underlying ply is drif.

A still further object is to provide a wall paper covering comprising an interposed rarer (if water absorbent material to prevent staining of the paper by dampness during certain seasons of the year and by condensation in rooms which are heated during the colder months of the year.

In the accompan ing drawing the singlefigure illustrates a portion of a board wan surface" and thepreferrec'irianrier srpaperirig the same tic cording. to the present ihvelit'i dfi, the paperrdr of" illustration.

Assuming the several boards Ill represent" a a ply of unwoven, vegetablefibers; such asa'cot ton wadding H". Preferably, an adhesive orpa'ste' is'fir'st applied to the board surfacearid' the cot ton wadding then applied to the" paste coated sin 7 face; The paste or" other adhesive may consti; tute thesole means of attaching the cotton Wad ding but if desired the wadding may be further secured at its edges around the perimeter of the wall and around openings such as doors and winclows either by tacking it down with strips of kraft lining or heavy wrapping paper l2 and tacks It or with the tacks l3 alone. This sublayer of wadding H is preferably made from two films or plies of cotton or cotton linters produced on ordinary carding machines used by cotton mills in carding cotton for spinning and the two films are bonded together with an ordinary cotton sizing agent. When dry, the wadding has sufiicient body to prevent it sinking or receding into joints, cracks and other openings in the board wall so that said wadding presents a smooth, even surface for application of the wall paper. It is also substantially smooth and imperforate especially as compared to netting or other rough or loosely woven fabrics. As a result of these several properties, the wadding cannot only be attached to the wall surface 'with paste but it can be wiped smoothly on to the wall with the smoothing brush usually employed in applying wall paper. In other words, in the present method, the backing of wadding H is applied merely by first applying the paste and then wiping or brushing on the wadding although, as mentioned, it may be preliminarily tacked around its edges, if desired. As Will be appreciated this preliminary tacking facilitates the brushing on of the wadding and insures against the wadding loosening or peeling off around its edges. In any event, the sized cotton wadding has suflicient body to permit it to be brushed on to the wall under which circumstances it can quickly be applied smoothly and evenly. This operation greatly reduces the cost of papering a wall as compared with those methods where netting or loosely woven fabrics are used because the latter has to be carefully stretched while being applied and has to be nailed or tacked at a multitude of points throughout its entire area to maintain its stretched condition.

After the wadding H has thus been applied and brushed smoothly on the wall, the wall paper 14 is pasted or otherwise adhesively applied to the wadding. In actual practice, the wall paper has been pasted on the previously applied wadding Without waiting for the paste used for attaching the wadding to dry and when the composite covering of wadding and paper has dried thoroughly, the paper is found to be tightly and smoothly attached. However, it is not essential that the paper he applied immediately after the Wadding is pasted on although considerable time is saved by so doing.

Starch or any of the usual cotton sizing agents may be used in the wadding but it is preferred that the wadding have a relatively smooth, imperforate surface as it not only lends to the smooth appearance of the subsequently applied paper but it also facilitates applying the wadding with the ordinary smoothing brush as the latter is less likely to accumulate paste which would pass through the openings in netting or loosely woven fabrics.

The present wedding is water absorbent and has sufficient body to absorb moisture in the form of dampness which tends to accumulate on room o walls particularly around window and door openings during certain seasons of the year when the room is not heated. It will also take up or absorb water of condensation that tends to accumulate on the walls during the colder seasons of the 15,712/33 til year, especially in Southern climates where it is the practice to heat the rooms of a house with individual gas heating units. This water absorbing property of the interposed layer of wadding is, therefore, important in preventin staining of the wall paper by moisture which would otherwise accumulate on the paper under the conditions mentioned.

The wedding also possesses comparatively high heat insulating properties so that the application of successive coverings of wadding and paper to the walls of a room will constitute an efficient lining or covering of insulation therefor.

The nature of the wadding is also such that its use is not limited to rooms having walls formed of wooden boards. It is also well adapted for use on wallboards commercially known as Celotex and Gypsum boards.

What I claim is:

A paper covered board wall consisting of boards having as a group an uneven, discontinuous surface, a plurality of plies of substantially smooth, sized cotton linters attached to and covering said boards, said sized covering plies possessin rigidity to prevent them entering depressions or openings in the surface formed by said boards, and wall paper adhesively attached to the surface of said covering plies of cotton linters.

ALBERT G. FERGUSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,885,310 Weber Nov. 1, 1932 2,126,956 Gilbert Aug. 16, 1938 2,160,729 Graham et al May 30, 1939 2,217,165 Graham et al Oct. 8, 1940 2,352,900 Kincaid July 4, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date Australia Dec. 31, 1933 

